Those Kaleidoscope Eyes
by DivergentDemigod42
Summary: He figures it out without hesitation: Paris McLane is absolutely nothing like Piper McLean. Sequel to Selfish.
1. Chapter 1

**Probably not the smartest idea to start two new fanfictions while you have another one that you really need to update.**

**Oh well.**

**Hey guys, DD42 here!**

**DD42. That's weird. I was just too lazy to write out the full thing.**

**But if you want, I can refer to myself as that.**

**Anyway, here is the sequel to _Selfish_, in which the Seven meet Piper's reincarnation, Paris McLane. I highly recommend that you read _Selfish _before this story, so that everything makes sense. It's on my page.**

**WARNING: This is a full-on Jasper story with some side pairings and maybe some Liper bromance on the side. SHOULD ALL BE IN JASON'S POV BUT I'LL ALERT YOU IF IT'S NOT.**

**Here goes nothing. Hope you enjoy! :)**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: Don't own Percy Jackson. Dam it.<strong>

* * *

><p>"LET'S MAKE LIKE A BAKERY TRUCK AND HAUL BUNS OUTTA HERE!" Leo yelled, earning a slap from Annabeth. "What? Is it <em>wrong<em> that I want to see the supposedly extremely hot reincarnation of my best-friend?" Calypso and Jason both glared at him.

"I'm going to go build a birdhouse," he squeaked and ran off.

Calypso smirked at Jason, who smiled back.

_Finally_.

He was _finally_ going to see Pi-

Ahem.

_Paris._

He was going to see Paris McLane, the reincarnation of his girlfriend ... or was it ex-girlfriend ...

Anyway, he and the rest of the Seven, plus Calypso, had been waiting in the Lotus Casino for apparently fifteen years. They remained the same age, however. To majority of the group, the wait felt like a few days. To an eager Jason, it felt like a millennium.

Apparently, the world hadn't really changed. Percy had gotten in touch with his mother over Iris Message, who had a mortal daughter with Paul. Her name was Juliet. None of them had actually gotten to see her, but Sally showed a picture. She was fourteen, with Sally's brown hair and blue eyes and Paul's good looks. Percy was extremely excited to meet her.

They'd also contacted Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter.

Travis had married Katie, which ended up as a bit of a surprise. Octavian was no longer a crazed teddy bear murderer.

Things seemed like they were going great.

"All right, is everybody packed?" Jason asked. A chorus of "yeah"s filled the room. "Great. Let's go, Iris should be waiting at the entrance."

The seven of them walked out of the room and made their way to the entrance, where they were stopped by an employee.

"Leaving so soon?" She said, holding out a handful of game cards. **(A/N I know that I said in _Selfish_ that they used edible flowers but I just realized that was only in the movie. Oops)**

"Bribing them won't get anywhere, dear." A feminine voice rang out from behind them. A middle aged woman with olive skin, black hair, and warm brown eyes stood there.

"Iris!" Percy exclaimed.

"Hello, Percy." Iris turned to the employee. "These seven will be coming with me. You dare object, and you get a mouth full of rainbows."

The employee didn't do anything but gulp.

"Very well. Come along, children! We have a school to go to!" Iris turned, whipping her long hair, and strode out of the resort, followed by Jason, Percy, Leo, Frank, Annabeth, Hazel, and Calypso.

Once they were a good distance away from the Lotus Casino, Iris turned to them.

"Now, you will be staying with Sally, Paul, and Jul-"

"Hold up." Percy held up a hand. "How do you know my parents are okay with housing six powerful demigods and an immortal nymph?"

Iris shrugged. "I asked them. They're perfectly okay with it. Very nice people. They got a new apartment, too, with Paul's money. Quite large. Anyway, the form of transportation we will be using is very simple. All you have to do is step through this rainbow." With a wave of her hand, a rainbow appeared. "It's like shadow travel, except with a rainbow."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Leo said excitedly. "I wanna rainbow travel!"

Calypso facepalmed. "Why am I in love with this idiotic imbecile ..."

"I heard that!"

Iris smiled. "In you go, now. Should take you straight to the living room."

Leo ran in first, followed by a seemingly annoyed Calypso. Percy and Annabeth went in next, hands entwined. Hazel hesitantly stepped in, and Frank wrapped a comforting arm around her. Jason was about to step in, by Iris placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Be warned," Iris said sternly. "Paris is ... different. Don't expect her to have anything in common with Piper, because she really doesn't ... aside from her face, of course."

Jason nodded and stepped into the rainbow.

* * *

><p>With one step, he found himself in a large room. Sunlight filtered through the windows, shining on the large flat screen TV. Annabeth was hugging a woman who had brown hair with gray streaks, and Percy was being man-hugged by a good-looking man with salt and pepper hair. A pretty teenage girl with long brown hair and sparkly blue eyes stood awkwardly in the corner, looking strangely at Percy. Jason recognized her as Juliet.<p>

Annabeth pulled away from the woman (Jason assumed she was Sally) and grabbed Jason. "Sally, Paul, this is Jason. Piper's girlfriend." Jason visibly flinched when Piper's name was mentioned, and Sally, despite the fact that she barely knew him, pulled him into a hug.

"I'm so sorry," she said, and she pulled away. "Paul," she gestured to the man with the salt and pepper hair, "care to talk about Paris?"

Paul sighed and sat down on the couch. "Well ... she's ... hold on, may I ask what she was like as Piper?"

Jason opened his mouth to speak, but Leo beat him to it. "Well, frankly, she was pretty amazing. I mean, she had this awesome hair that she cut herself with safety scissors, and her eyes changed color like a kaleidoscope. Unnaturally beautiful, too. Some people called her a kleptomaniac. She had the power of charmspeak, so she could get people to do what she wanted. For a daughter of Aphrodite, she was incredibly down-to-earth and tomboyish. And I really miss her. She was like my sister."

"Awwww ..." Sally said.

"Well ... Paris is, to say the least, the complete opposite. She's-"

"The daughter of _who_?" Juliet stepped out from the corner.

"Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love and that stuff."

"_Excuse me_?"_  
><em>

Percy looked at Sally, and some kind of understanding passed between them. Percy turned back toward Juliet. "Long story short, our parents are Greek-"

"And Roman," Hazel pointed out.

"Gods. I mean, not you, but ... us ..."

"You realize how stupid you sound? How am I supposed to believe that?" Juliet demanded.

Sally laughed nervously. "Why don't you ... introduce yourselves?"

"Jason Grace, son of Jupiter."

"Leo _smoking_ _hot-_"

"Get on with the point."

"-Valdez, proud son of Hephaestus."

"Calypso. Just Calypso. I'm an, er, immortal nymph ... goddess ... thing ..."

"Frank Zhang, son of Mars. Roman."

"Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto."

"Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena."

"Percy Jackson, your stepbrother, and son of-"

"My _what_?!" Juliet shrieked.

"Erm, yeah. Same mom."

"Who's your dad?"

"Poseidon. Greek god, you know?"

"You're not kidding," Juliet said dryly.

"Not at all."

"Well, you get some rest. We should have enough guest rooms for each of you. Go on, now." Sally shooed them.

Jason walked out of the living room, pulling his suitcase behind him. He stepped into a random room and pushed his suitcase up against the wall. He walked over to the bed.

As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out.

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><p>"RISE AND SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!" Leo screamed, barging into Jason's bedroom. Jason groaned and pulled his covers over his head.<p>

"One more minute?" He said hopefully.

"Nope!" Leo yelled, pulling down the blankets and ripping them in the process. "Oops."

"Leo, you're such a moron." Calypso was leaning against the frame of the door. She was dressed in a simple blue shirt and skinny jeans, courtesy of Annabeth. Her hair was tied into its normal side braid.

"I know you love me." Leo stuck his hands in his pockets, kissed Calypso on the cheek, and strode out, whistling "So Yesterday" by Hilary Duff. Calypso rolled her eyes, smiling, and followed him out.

"COME ON, SPARKY, WE'RE GOING TO SEE BEAUTY QUEEN THE SECOND TODAY!" Leo yelled from the hall. Jason rolled out of bed and slowly made his way to his suitcase. He unzipped it, and a picture floated out. He bent down and looked at it.

It was him and Piper, right before they had gone to Camp Jupiter.

Jason had his arm wrapped around her. His blue eyes sparkled, and he was beaming at the camera. Piper had been caught mid-laugh, her hand covering her mouth, her eyes squeezed shut. She was dressed in her Camp Half-Blood shirt and denim shorts.

Gods, she was so _pretty_.

A tear escaped Jason's eye as Leo yelled at him again. Jason pulled on his Superman hoodie and tucked the picture into his pocket, walking out to breakfast. Everybody was already there, chowing down on waffles. Jason sat down quietly and began to eat.

"What's that?" Juliet asked suddenly, pointing to Jason's pocket. He looked down and saw that the picture was hanging out. He slowly pulled it out and handed it to Juliet, who looked at it intently. Sally and Paul leaned over to examine the picture.

"Wow ... is that you?" Juliet asked. "And that's Piper?"

Jason nodded.

"Wow ... she really is beautiful, Jason," Sally said softly, looking at Jason. Jason smiled weakly and took back the picture, tucking it into his pocket.

"Just a heads-up, Jason," Juliet said. "Doesn't look like Piper and Paris have many things in common. From what I can tell, Piper isn't a brat."

* * *

><p>The seven of them (and Juliet) walked into Goode. Percy and Juliet were greeted by a few people. Some girls looked at Percy with longing, and Juliet had to tell them that he was taken.<p>

"Paris should be in there," Juliet whispered, shoving them toward a door. "Good luck."

Jason gulped and stepped into the room.

A girl stood there.

She was Piper ... except somehow, she _wasn't_.

Her chocolate brown hair fell in perfect ringlets down her back, reaching her waist. Her face was caked with makeup, and her shirt was extremely tight and low-cut. Her denim shorts were too short to even be classified as clothing.

"Well, well, well," she said in a sickly sweet tone. "What do we have here?"

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><p><strong>CLIFFIES! YAY!<strong>

**Haha, this chapter sucked. I was watching Disney Channel while typing half of it XD And, I kept accidentally closing this before saving it, so therefore, I lost a huge chunk of it about five times. My writing got worse and worse each time :P**

**Anyway, yeah. So, they met Paris. DON'T WORRY, SHE WILL BECOME PIPER LATER.**

**Like, legit.**

**You're going to have to deal with Drew the 2nd for now, though.**

**See you then :)**

**~ DD42**


	2. Chapter 2

**GUESS WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?!**

**Hey guys, it's DD42!**

**I'm back with another chapter ;)**

**Heads-up: I edited the past chapter. If you guys read it before, you know that the picture was the Seven, Nico, Reyna, and Thalia. I changed it to just Piper and Jason, to make it more realistic. Just so you know.**

**Let's get started!**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: PJO is not mine and I'm not creative enough to think of a fabulous disclaimer.<strong>

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><p>Jason blinked. "Uh ..."<p>

"Why, hello there ..." Paris purred.

"Erm ... heeeeeeeeeey ..." Jason said awkwardly.

Paris walked over and began to stroke his arm. "Awwwww, you're so cute ..."

Jason gulped.

He was _extremely _uncomfortable.

"_Paris_," Juliet growled. "Don't you have a boyfriend?"

Paris turned to her, smirking. "Oh, Juliet dear, don't worry. I'm not cheating. And even if I was, he wouldn't know. Just like you didn't know he was cheating on you."

"He did what?" Percy demanded.

Wow.

He'd known Juliet for one day and he was already in overprotective-older-brother mode._  
><em>

"Nothing," Juliet muttered, taking interest in her shoes.

"Ooh, Juliet, who's this?" Paris said, strolling over to Percy. "He is _hot_."

"Excu-" Annabeth started, but Juliet interrupted.

"That's my brother."

"Stop joking, Juliet, it won't get you anywhere," Paris snapped.

"She's not joking." Percy narrowed his eyes.

"Oh." Paris shrugged. "Who would have guessed that somebody so hot could be related to someone so ugly?"

Percy launched himself at Paris, but Frank held him back.

"Feisty!" Paris exclaimed. "That's my favorite ..."

"You-" Percy yelled out a few choice words, making Leo snort. Paris turned to the Latino boy.

"Who are you?" She asked rudely.

"Name's Leo. I'm your best friend."

"Um, no, you aren't."

"Oops. Long story."

Paris rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot."

"Why, thank you for noticing."

"What the heck?" Paris shrieked. "What kind of person would respond like that?"

"My boyfriend," Calypso said coolly.

"_He's _your boyfriend?" Paris said, wide-eyed. "You're kidding, right? I would have thought you were a pop! Dating a jock! I mean, look at you! You're absolutely freaking gorgeous? You can do better than that thing!"

"She's a popsicle?" Leo said, but both girls ignored him.

"Excuse me?" Calypso said shrilly, losing her calm. "He is not a _thing_, he is amazing and I love him! HE ALMOST DIED FOR ME, AND YOU DARE CALL HIM A-"

"Whoa, ladies." Leo stepped between them, grinning. He was handling the situation pretty well. "There's enough Leo to go around."

Either he didn't get anything Paris was saying, or he really _was_ an idiot.

Probably the latter.

"I don't want you," Paris spat. Then she death-glared Calypso. "And I was going to ask you to join the pops, but apparently, you have no common sense. I mean, people may think that we as pops are complete ditzes, but we're a lot smarter than you think."_  
><em>

"Pops? What kind of name is that? Do you guys, like, explode or ..." Percy commented. Leo snickered, Frank snorted, Hazel giggled, Annabeth grinned, Calypso smirked, and Jason let out a small smile.

"Popular, you idiots! It stands for popular!" She shrieked, stomping her pink stilettos. "Ugh, never mind. You guys are all _idiots-"_

"I believe you made that clear already."

"And I'm just wasting my time. Goodbye!" She held her chin up high, puffed out her chest, and stomped proudly out of the room, flipping her mahogany curls behind her.

"She's a brat."

"_No_, Percy, she's the greatest thing since Twinkies."

"You guys are so immature."

"That was awkward."

"She's so ... different ..."

"No shiz, Sherlock."

Jason just stood there, staring at the door, frozen in shock.

_That_ was Paris?

Whoa.

Naturally, Jason was expecting Paris to be very different from Piper ... but _this_ different?

She was, in fact, a total brat.

A total brat in skimpy clothes who ordered too much makeup from the circus.

"Yo, Sparky!" Leo yelled in Jason's ear, making him jump so high that he landed on a desk. He lost his balance and slipped off, arms flailing. Annabeth, Frank, and Hazel were trying (but slightly failing) to hold in laughs, but Percy and Leo were doubled over in laughter.

Jason glared at Leo. He grabbed the poor boy's arm, not only hauling himself up but sending an electric shock through him. Leo stiffened and his eyes widened. After a minute or two, he talked.

" ... _OW_!"

Jason just smirked. "You're welcome."

Annabeth straightened, clearing her throat. "Stop acting like complete five-year-olds. We haven't even gotten our schedules yet, and from what information I've collected so far, school starts in seven minutes, so therefore, we need to hurry up and get our schedules so that we won't be late to class, because if we're late to class then that will hurt our grades, it will hurt _my _grade, and if my grade goes down then I'll be-"_  
><em>

"Annabeth?" Percy asked tentatively.

"What?" She demanded.

"You're rambling."

Annabeth's face flushed. "Sorry. Let's go." Percy grinned at her and took her hand. Hazel grabbed onto Frank's arm and clung onto him, making him blush (Jason thought it was actually pretty cute). As for Leo, he pulled on his suspenders and wrapped an arm around Calypso, who still looked angry but gave a visible smile.

And Jason?

He trailed awkwardly in the back, with no one to cuddle with. 1 on the awkwardness scale.

Once they got into the office, Annabeth did all the talking. Hazel and Calypso were amazed by the laptops and phones. Leo and Percy were thumb wrestling, and Jason and Frank just kind of stood there.

2 on the awkwardness scale.

Annabeth had managed to persuade the person at the desk to change their schedules so that they all had the same classes; they took Latin as an elective. She said it was hard to do without Piper's charmspeak (Jason visibly flinched) but she pulled it off anyway.

Together, they all walked to science class.

The classroom was even crazier than the Ares cabin; jocks were running around, throwing paper wads at each other and laughing like crazed monkeys. Some guys who looked even more ADHD than Leo were jumping from desk to desk. The nerds just looked baffled by it all, and the "pops," which was unfortunately centered around Paris, consisted of thin girls who were constantly flipping their bleached hair.

The teacher looked like he couldn't care less.

The seven hesitantly sat down. They tried their best to be near each other, but it was difficult with all their classmates. Jason ended up right in the middle of the room ... right next to Paris.

Paris turned to him, seemingly noticing him for the first time, and smiled. "Why-"

"_SHUT UP_!"

Everybody jumped and turned to the front, where their teacher stood with a ruler in hand. "You can continue blabbering later, I just have an assignment to give. It's a simple project, you guys will be working with pairs. All you have to do is ..."

Jason stopped listening at that point. He was well aware of Paris staring at the back of his head, but he tried his best not to move.

"... and now, let's get onto the pairs ..."

Jason watched his friends get paired. None of them got their respective partner, though Annabeth did manage to get paired with Calypso.

"... Jason Grace and Paris McLane."

Jason froze.

His eyes widened as slowly, he turned to face Paris, who was smiling seductively.

10 on the awkwardness scale.

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><p><strong>So, this definitely isn't one of my better stories. If you want a good story, go check out Skyscraper.<strong>

**At least I updated, right?**

**~ DD42**


	3. Chapter 3

Jason didn't move. He was just there, staring into the dull brown eyes of Paris (truthfully, he was disappointed that they didn't change color), and Paris was staring back, her head tilted, her mouth twisted into a creepy smile.

"Those are your partners. Have fun. Class is dismissed."

"But there's still-"

"Oh, whatever. Just do something."

Jason turned quickly, slumping in his seat and tapping his foot. He pursed his lips and played with his pencil, before slamming his foot down and whisper-yelling to Percy.

"_Percy_!"

The black-haired teenage boy didn't reply; rather, he kept balancing a pencil on his nose.

"_Percy, you idiot_!"

He dropped the pencil. And picked it up again. And put it back on his nose.

Jason banged his head against his desk.

There was a tap on his shoulder, and he turned to see Annabeth staring at him with an arched eyebrow.

"Need help?"

Jason nodded.

"Percy!" Annabeth screamed. "I'm breaking up with you!"

Everybody froze, despite the fact that over half of the students didn't even know they were dating. Percy's eyes widened, and the pencil dropped from his nose. Slowly, he turned to face Annabeth, a look of pure terror etched upon his face.

"What?" He yelled.

Annabeth smiled sweetly, holding in a giggle. "I was just kidding, Seaweed Brain. Jason needed your attention, and you were too busy being an idiot to notice."

"Wha ... but ... that was ... hey!" Percy cried out, his eyebrows scrunched together in annoyance, and Annabeth let out her laugh. She kissed him on the cheek.

"You're welcome, Jason. Now, if you excuse me, I have a wind turbine to go create with Calypso."

Jason grinned and walked over to Percy, who was still opening and closing his mouth like a fish. "That was funny."

"And _cruel_!"

"But funny."

"Whatever." Percy shook his head and waved his hand. "So, why do you so badly need my attention, to the point where you decided to almost scare me to death?"

"Well, I was just paired with Paris."

"And your point is?"

"My point is, she's a brat! You said it yourself! What am I supposed to do?"

"I dunno."

"Perseus Jackson, Annabeth and I didn't scare you to death for nothing, did we?"

"No. Um ... let's see. First thing you can do is go ask for a different partner ... _but_ he looks like he couldn't care less. Paris would probably object, anyway. You're pretty much stuck with her, then ... I guess you could try doing the project on your own, but then ... you know, you'd have no help, unless you asked Annabeth ... but then she might get all angry at you and tell you that you have to do it yourself, because she's Annabeth ... gods, Jason, I'm not really sure."

"... why did I ask _you_ for help?"

"Even I can't come up with a good answer for that one. Go for Annabeth next time."

"But you just said that she might get all angry at me and stuff."

"I guess you'll just have to deal with it, then."

"Thanks for your help," Jason replied sarcastically, turning and sitting back down in his seat. There was another tap on his shoulder, but he already knew who it was.

"What do you want, Paris?"

"Oh, I was just wondering when you wanted to get together for the project." She was smiling creepily again. "Here's my card. It has my address, my phone number, my email, my Instagram, my Facebook, my Twitter, my-"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it." Jason looked at the card. "Why do you have a business card, again?"

"Just in case." She winked at him, tapped his nose, and sashayed away.

Jason turned the card over and over in his hands.

"Sorry, bro." Leo was next to him suddenly, patting his back. "Maybe you can convert her into Piper."

Percy huffed. "Good luck with that."

* * *

><p>Paris had a huge house.<p>

Naturally, Jason expected it. She seemed (or maybe, she was) like a popular, rich prep. One of those stereotypical snobs with designer clothes and perfect hair and 5 pounds of makeup who acted as if they ruled the school. (Maybe Paris did rule the school. With her mansion, Jason wouldn't be surprised.)

But seriously, it was _huge_.

Slowly, Jason walked up to the front door. Tentatively, he reached out and pressed the doorbell. The bell was a loud harp; Jason could hear the sound flowing through the house.

The door opened almost immediately. Paris stood there, all pink and "makeupy," a fluffy white poodle next to her.

"Jason!" She exclaimed, beaming. Her smile was different. Genuine, and ... not creepy. "You're here!"

"Yeah, I'm ... here ..." Jason awkwardly scratched the back of his neck and stepped into her house.

"Welcome to the McLane home!" Paris said cheerfully, skipping ahead.

It was even bigger on the inside, with several floors and a high ceiling with a large chandelier. The white marble floor was spotless, and crimson curtains adorned the gigantic windows.

"You have a nice house."

"Thanks! Now, something to eat, Sparky?"

Jason froze.

He hadn't heard that in forever. _Sparky_. It was his nickname, given by Piper, though everybody used it. After she died, nobody called him that. It wasn't at his request, but they had a feeling that if they did, he would break down.

He turned, ever so slowly. Paris stood there, eyes wide.

"I don't ..." Paris blinked rapidly. "I don't know where that came from. I wasn't thinking."

"You just called me Sparky." Jason looked down. "You just called me _Sparky_!"

"Jason, I'm sorry!"

"No, no, don't be! Really!" Jason looked at her, straight into her brown eyes. "What do you remember?"

* * *

><p><strong>Cliffie, I guess? YAAAAAY I UPDATED<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

"What do I remember? What do you mean, _what do I remember_?"

"I mean ... what do you remember?"

"Remember from _what_?"

"From the war!"

"From the war?" Paris demanded. "What war? I was never in a war! What are you talking about, Jason? Are you okay? Do you need some therapeutic help, possibly a glass of water, you know, it always helps to-"

"Shut up!" Jason yelled. Paris shrank back, eyes wide, and Jason was genuinely surprised. Not only toward himself and how _rude _he'd been, just yelling at her like that, but at how easily Paris recoiled. She didn't seem like one to back down so easily. And really, he wasn't sure if she was actually concerned about him or just sarcastic. "Gah, I'm sorry, Paris, I'm just a little ... memories. Just forget about it. Forget anything happened."

"But I feel like-"

"Just, _don't_. Please. And don't tell anyone. Got it?"

Paris closed her eyes, revealing her shimmery black eyelids. "Got it."

Jason exhaled, leaning on a table. "So, how about that science project?"

* * *

><p>"She called me Sparky."<p>

The entire Jackson apartment completely stopped moving. Percy's arm froze, mid-punch, just as Leo froze mid-wince. Annabeth's pencil stopped gliding across her paper, and Juliet dropped her sandwich. Hazel stopped braiding the hair of Calypso, who blanched, and Frank stood as still as a statue. Sally and Paul were out grocery shopping.

Annabeth broke the silence. "_What_?"

Jason dropped his backpack on the floor and made his way to the kitchen, slamming his head down onto the counter. "I went to her house. To work on the project, right? She has an awesome house. But that's beside the point. She asked me if I wanted food, and she called me Sparky ... and then I kind of went insane, and-"

Annabeth cleared her throat. "Jason, honey, I can't hear you when you're talking into the counter."

Jason sighed and lifted his head, running a hand through his blonde hair. Annabeth's startlingly gray eyes bored into him, and Jason found that they worked almost as well as Piper's charmspeak.

"She just called me Sparky, and I freaked out. Honestly, I'm not really sure what else to say."

Annabeth bit her lip and looked away, tapping her foot. "Okay ... hmm ..."

"Put on your thinking cap, Annie," Leo piped up, moving away from Percy.

Annabeth shot the short Latino boy a glare. "Shut up, Leo." He murmured an incoherent apology and shrank back, reminding Jason of Paris. Annabeth turned back to Jason. "Sit down. I need to know everything."

Jason pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and sat down, slumping. He drummed his fingers against the wooden tabletop as Annabeth sat down across from him, clasping her hands together and crossing her legs. Jason couldn't help but notice how professional she looked, with her tilted head, intentionally messy ponytail, and questioning eyes. "Now, start."

"From where?"

"From ..." Annabeth made some interesting hand motions. "The beginning!"

"So ... like ..."

"Gods, Jason, just _talk_!"

"Okay, okay. Sorry, I'm still a little freaked out. Okay, so, when I went over to her house, you know, she let me in and stuff. And then, she's all like, 'now, something to eat, _Sparky-_'" Annabeth cracked a smile at his Paris impression, "-and I completely freaked out. Like, _freaked_. I was kind of like-"

"Jason, I get it. Continue."

Jason grinned slightly. "Okay, so, pretty much, I became a little desperate and asked her why she called me Sparky. And she was all like, _what_, and then I was like-"

"You sound like one of those perky cheerleaders retelling the story of how she broke her arm," Leo interrupted, playing with a few pipe cleaners. Calypso flicked him, and Annabeth motioned for Jason to continue.

"I don't really know what else to say."

"What happened after you freaked out?"

"... well ... we just ... worked on the project, I guess. It was kind of awkward, but for someone so bratty she's actually pretty intelligent. She did most of the work, and we got a lot done."

"Did she make anymore references to Piper?"

"Nope. Nothing. We didn't talk much after that."

Annabeth leaned back in her chair, clasping and unclasping her hands. "Okay. Jason, every time you find yourself with her, I want to know everything that happened. Kapeesh?"

Jason sighed, standing up and moving back to the counter. He leaned down again and buried his head in his hands. "Fine. Whatever. Can I just have some time alone?"

Annabeth did something that completely surprised Jason.

She walked up to him and tapped his shoulder. Jason turned toward her and lazily arched an eyebrow, his tired way of demanding what she wanted. Ever so slowly, she wrapped her arms around him.

Jason stuck his arms out awkwardly, not quite hugging her back. His eyes widened and he looked at Percy, who just smiled at him. Jason smiled back slightly and looked down at Annabeth, who was still embracing him. He slowly hugged her back, digging his face into her shoulder.

"I know she'll come to someday," Annabeth whispered into his ear. "I know she will. Don't doubt it."

"I won't."

* * *

><p>Jason stared up.<p>

He had that picture of him and Piper in his hand, his arm outstretched toward the ceiling. He was lying on his bed, and he'd been staring at the picture for a long time. It was hard to take his eyes away.

He sighed again, laying the picture down on his chest. He placed his hand over his heart, closing his eyes.

"I know you'll come to someday," he whispered. "I know you will."

He imagined Piper laughing. Piper smiling. Piper crying, Piper punching him, Piper hugging him, Piper kissing him. A tear fell down his cheek.

"And I don't doubt it."


	5. Chapter 5

"Ready?"

Jason nodded. "Let's go."

"And ..." Paris pressed the 'Start' button. "Go!"

"And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to spend - gah." Jason smiled, shaking his head, and Paris laughed, pressing the 'Stop' button.

"Hey, you got farther this time." Paris smiled at him and took the passage, looking over it. She wrote something down on a piece of paper and looked back at Jason. "You wanna take another go?"

Jason sighed. "Ah, sure, let's go."

"3 ... 2 ... 1 ... _go_!"

"And when this happens, and we when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when _all _of God's children, black man - _gods_, this is difficult." Paris laughed again, stopping the timer, and wrote something down on the paper. She seemed to grow tenser after Jason had said "gods."

Jason took the time to examine Paris. She was dressed in sweatpants and a baggy hoodie, her long brown locks tied up into a bun. She still wore makeup, though it wasn't nearly as drastic as it had been when Jason first met her.

He could see it - she was slowly but surely becoming less bratty, more ... _Piper_. When she was around him, anyway.

Maybe his appearance had triggered something inside of her - memories, possibly.

"So, you wanna wrap it up, or you wanna go one more time?" Paris snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Eh, I'm pooped." Jason picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Same place, same time." Paris grinned at Jason, and he genuinely smiled back.

"Got it."

* * *

><p>"What happened?"<p>

"Why do you need to know?" Jason groaned, slumping on the couch and leaning his head back. He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, randomly flipping through channels.

Annabeth walked over and planted her feet into the carpet, blocking Jason's view and and crossing her arms stubbornly.

"Hey!" Jason protested, moving his head. Annabeth moved slightly, blocking his view again, and they repeated that until Jason gave up.

"You never answered my question," he said, turning off the TV.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "She's my _friend_, Jason, I want to know."

"Yeah, but if you're her friend, then Leo's her friend, and Percy's her friend, and Hazel's her friend, and I don't see why you're asking and they're not and-"

"Gods, Jason, just answer the question!"

Jason stuck his hands up, sighing. "Sorry, I'm still shaken up by the whole thing. She's doing ... well, she's great. She's sweet and kind, she's downgraded the makeup a bit, she doesn't act like some stripper-"

"She's not like that at school, though."

"What?"

Juliet waltzed in, taking a bag of chips and ripping it open. She sat on the chair across from Jason and popped a chip into her mouth. "She's still little Miss Jerkface at school, all sassy and prissy and stuff."

Annabeth looked from Juliet to Jason before nodding slightly. "That's kind of true."

Jason shrugged. "I dunno, I haven't been paying attention to her at school."

Juliet arched an eyebrow, tossing her long brown hair behind her shoulder. "Why not?"

"I've been focused on academic stuff. You know, it's the first time I've really gotten an education for a while, being a demigod and all ..." Jason trailed off, chuckling slightly.

"Hey, what's it like being a demigod?" Juliet asked suddenly, leaning forward.

"Um, it's-"

"Painful," Annabeth said.

Jason nodded. "Dangerous."

"Scary."

"But it can be fun sometimes."

"Because you get to go on adventures."

"And you get to meet new people." Annabeth smiled at Jason, who grinned slightly.

* * *

><p>"Where's Paris?"<p>

"Ummm ..." Juliet held her books tight to her chest, stretching her head as she looked into the crowd of teenage students, searching for Paris. "I dunno ... she's usually out here, sticking her butt in some poor dude's face ..."

Jason wrinkled his nose as he and Juliet passed by a few of Paris' cronies.

One of them, with a terrible tan and bleached blonde hair, winked at Jason. "Who's this cutie, Juliet?"

"Uh, this is Jason, my ... er ... fr-"

"Boyfriend," Jason interrupted nervously. Juliet's eyebrows skyrocketed, her cheeks growing considerably redder. Jason gave her a look - _Just play along _- as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer._  
><em>

"Yeah, he's my boyfriend." Juliet's voice cracked slightly, but she held her ground.

The girl's eyes widened. "You're joking."

"Not joking." Jason had on his half-grin again.

The girl's mouth opened, and before Jason and Juliet could do anything, she screamed. "_PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARIS_!"

Jason winced, and Juliet dug her face into Jason's chest. Paris came running down the hall, dressed inappropriately. She was followed by a rather good-looking boy, who Jason assumed was her boyfriend.

"What? What happened?" She paid no attention to Jason - maybe she didn't even acknowledge that he was there.

"Did you know that Juliet has a boyfriend?"

Paris' eyes widened. "_What_? How?"

"Rude," Juliet muttered into Jason's chest, making him laugh. Paris turned and her eyes, if possible, got even bigger when she saw Jason.

"Wait, _what_? You're dating Juliet?"

"Er, yeah ... I am ..."

Paris' face fell. "Why?"

"Because I like her. And she's not fake. And stuff." Juliet snorted.

"Oh, okay," Paris said quietly. "Uh, excuse me for a moment." She wove her way through the crowd, not trying to exaggerate her hip movements or flip her hair. Juliet looked up to see Paris' cronies glaring at her before they sashayed after Paris. Juliet looked back up at Jason.

"What the _hell _just happened?"

* * *

><p><strong>Urf. Sorry for the JasonJuliet. I wasn't really sure what to do with this chapter. :P Next update should be coming soon ... it's Thanksgiving break, after all!**


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